Yemen Monitor/Exclusive:
A civilian was killed and others were injured in separate landmine incidents planted by the Houthis in western Yemen over the past few hours.
The Human Rights Office in Al-Drehemi district of Hodeidah Governorate stated on Wednesday that it had documented a new victim of landmines planted by Houthi militias in the village of Al-Shjan, within the district.
The office confirmed the death of “citizen Yahya Rajih Haba Hadish, (45 years old) while tending to his sheep, emphasizing that the village of Al-Shjan is one of the villages that the Houthi group controlled from 2018 until December 2021 and witnessed the forced displacement of its residents.”
Meanwhile, human rights sources reported that the citizens “Abdu Ahmed Abdu Qasim” and “Sofi Saeed al-Hij” were seriously injured as a result of a Houthi landmine explosion in the Thubab district of western Taiz Governorate.
The sources explained that the incident occurred on Tuesday evening, in Al-Hariqiyah area of Thubab district, while a “Hilux” vehicle carrying the citizens Abdu Ahmed and Sofi al-Hij was passing through.
In a related context, the Yemeni Mine Observatory announced the recording of 28 victims of mines and unexploded ordnance in Yemen during the month of December 2024.
The observatory said in a statement that “a field team was able to record and document the fall of 11 civilian deaths, including two children, and the injury of 17 others, including 6 children, as a result of incidents of Houthi landmine explosions, improvised explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance.”
Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured since 2015 as a result of the explosion of landmines and explosives from the remnants of war in several Yemeni governorates.
Government and human rights reports indicate that the number of landmines planted in the country has reached more than two million, posing a serious threat to the lives of civilians.
The reports stated that the Houthis refused to hand over maps of the locations of minefields.
On Tuesday, December 31, 2024, the Director-General of the MASAM project for demining in Yemen, Osama al-Qusaybi, announced that the project’s engineering teams were able to remove 48,705 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices in various parts of the country during 2024.
